Kuroi Hana
by wintersiris
Summary: While hospitalized in the 4th Division, Hinamori Momo finds her companion to be Ukitake Jushiro. Unable to sleep, Ukitake tells Momo how he met Unohana.  Complete c: Will write more Uki/Uno one shots in future, though!
1. Akai Hana

Kuroi Hana

Summary: While hospitalized in the 4th Division, Hinamori Momo finds her companion to be Ukitake Jushiro. Unable to sleep, Ukitake remembers about the past. Implied Momo x Toshiro, Ukitake x Unohana. Post Winter War. Continuation if reviews are posetive c:

Momo had undergone her second day of operations. The winter war had ended, and she was placed in the 4th Division to rest before any more operations were to continue. After ten days of unconsciencnous, she awoke to find herself alone in a room. Her whole body ached as she tried to sit up, but she had no strength to.

Just then, Unohana walked in with Ukitake. "Lay down, Ukitake-san," she said gently. She then looked over at Momo, who was now awake. "Hinamori-san, you're awake. Ukitake-san, I'll be right back. I need to get some medicine for Hinamori-san."

"Uki...take...tai...cho?" Momo slurred, as she slowly turned her head towards him. He looked at Momo, and looked relieved.

"You're awake, thank goodness. Everyone has been so worried about you." He smiled, but then returned to coughing violently again. Unohana came in again, and gave Ukitake his medicine when he stopped coughing long enough for her to administer it. She rubbed his back while he choked it down. Momo thought she saw his face redden more, but that was probably from coughing.

Unohana felt his forehead. She looked at him. "You have a fever again, Ukitake-san. I think I should keep you here over-night, just to make sure you feel alright tomorrow." She gave him a small smile. She then walked over to Momo and gave her some medicine to help numb the pain. "Hinamori-san, this will help numb the pain until we can continue to heal you, alright? Until then, I want you to rest." She stood up and left the room, "If you need anything, let me know, ok?"

Hitsugaya, hearing Momo was awake, entered the room after Unohana left. Momo looked over at him. "Shiro-chan..." She gave him a weak grin. "You're...ok..."

He sat down beside her, and held her hand. "I'm so sorry Hinamori." Momo shook her head. She then noticed he had cut his hair.

"Shiro-chan...? You cut it...?" It didn't take long before Momo realized why. She had hurt her, and this was a way that could be shown how he was sorry. She squeezed his hand. "It's ok, Shiro-chan." He then felt her put her arm around him as she hugged him.

Momo restlessly groaned in her sleep before waking up only about an hour later when she saw Ukitake was still awake. Had she kept him up? She hoped not. With her pain eased, she was able to push herself up just a little. "Wake...you...up?" Her tongue was thick in her mouth, and it was difficult to talk. Ukitake looked at her and shook his head.

"No, I couldn't sleep tonight. Looks like you can't either," he said, with a slight laugh. His face was red and feverish, but he seemed to he happy thinking about something. Momo looked at him, wanting to ask him something, but didn't know if it would be inappropriate to ask. "Ukitake...taicho, how...meet Unohana taicho?" He looked at her, surprised at the question. No one had really asked, but he felt his face redden as he thought of the question. "Sorry..!" Momo murmured as she realized she asked something she shouldn't have.

He smiled. "No, it's quite alright. Maybe a story is what we both need to fall asleep anyway," he said. "Well, a long time ago..."

Unohana wrapped her kimono around her body tightly. She looked out at the night sky and realized this was her last night at her home before she would be enrolled into the academy. Like Ukitake, Unohana was born into a minor noble house, so for her, it was only natural to enter to become a shinigami.

Wearing the standard red school uniform, Unohana stood alongside her first year classmates for the entrance ceremony. She knew no one, and seeing how large the academy actually was, she became even more quiet and shy. She then saw the Sou-taicho, Yamamoto Genryusai, walk up, and he began to speak in a loud, authoratative voice. "Welcome, young ones..." he began to talk for the next hour, when the first years were dismissed.

Unohana wandered around, lost, as she saw friends greeting each other, when suddenly she felt two arms wrap around her waist. "Kyaa!" She let out a small squeak, and looked down to see a tall man with short brown hair holding her. She blushed, and squirmed. "P-please put me down!" The man laughed as she adjusted herself and looked at him.

"You're pretty cute," he said, grinning at her. Unohana blushed more. Who was this strange man, flirting with her like this? She couldn't find any words, so she remained silent. "I am Kyoraku Shunsui," he said, as he took her hand and kissed it. She froze. "I'll see you around, Usagi-chan."

_Usagi-chan? That isn't my name..._She was left there, wondering what just happened. She held onto her hand, and made her way to her dorm.

It didn't take long before Unohana found herself in the gifted class of the first years. She hadn't seen that strange man, and she was a bit relieved at that. As shy and quiet as she was, she managed to become good friends with her roommates. It wasn't until she arrived in class did she hear, "Usagi-chan!" She looked up to see the same guy again, only this time, he was sitting with a white haired boy, about the same height as him.

The white haired boy peered over, and looked at her. His face reddened a bit as he saw her slowly walk up and sit down beside Kyoraku. "I'm Unohana Retsu," she said quietly, smiling at them both shyly.

Kyoraku laughed. "I told you she was cute, Ukitake! This is Ukitake Jushiro." Ukitake blushed when she smiled at him.

"It's nice to meet you, Ukitake-kun." It seemed from there that the three of them would remain close friends.

Unohana found that while she excelled at the kendo, kido and book learning, she lacked the strength to have much impact with her attacks. Since she was flexible and agile, she didn't have much trouble dodging any hand-to-hand, but her attacks were weak as well. That day, the teacher called her to the side. "Unohana-san, while you show exceptional skill, you lack power to back up these skills. I would suggest you work harder to build up your strength."

Unohana was later found curled up under a tree, with her books beside her. She looked up to see Ukitake. While he had limited endurance, he shared exceptional strength like Kyoraku. She wiped her eyes. "Sorry," she said, trying to laugh it off.

He sat down beside her. "I heard what happened from Kyoraku." He looked at her. "It's alright, Unohana-san. If you want any help with training, I would be happy to help you." She looked up at him. "You have all the right skills, but you just lack the strength behind them. I wouldn't mind helping you with that," he blushed slightly.

"Really, Ukitake-kun? But, woul-"

He shook his head. "I would have to take frequent breaks," he said, sounding a bit annoyed, "but that wouldn't stop me from helping you if you needed it."

She smiled happily at him. "Thank you, Ukitake-kun. I wouldn't want to push you or anything, but I would love to practice with you."

"Then why don't we start now? You're doing pretty well in zanjutsu (sword play, kendo ect), so how about we practice trying to get some power behind your kido?"

"I don't need to worry about healing kido. Though, the rest I need to work on to get some more strength behind them."

After a little while, the two stopped to take a break. "You're doing really well, Unohana-san." Unohana blushed at his compliment.

"Only because you're doing so well at helping me." She then leaned over and hugged him. "Thank you, Ukitake-kun!" He felt his face warm up as he hugged her back.

Sometimes Kyoraku would practice with them, but as time went by, Ukitake noticed a change in Unohana. She seemed much happier and more confident in herself. Ukitake also began to develop a rather huge crush on her.

About halfway through the year, during the mid-exams, she ran out happily to where Ukitake was. She hugged him. "I passed!" She cried happily. "It's because you and Kyoraku-san helped me out so much. Thank you!" When she looked up at him, she saw him look at her differently. "What is it?"

He blushed and looked away. "Unohana-san, could I talk to you later, privately?" Surprised, she nodded. "I'll meet you in the back beside all those trees." Unohana nodded, confused, as he walked away.

Unohana found him waiting where he said he would be. "What is it you wanted to talk about?" She said, sitting down beside him.

His face was red before he even said anything. "Unohana-san," he looked at her, "I...I really like you. I mean, more than friends. It's just everything about you that, to me, is so perfect." He looked at her, to see a surprised expression. His heart fell a bit. "Even if you don't feel the same way, I just wanted to tell you andI still would like to be friends with you, that is, if you'd be ok...with that."

She looked away, hiding her red face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He laughed, but he looked and sounded upset. He then stood up and began to walk away when he felt her hug him from behind.

He saw her face, slightly red, with a happy, shy smile on her face. The blossoms blew in the wind, along with a few stray pieces of her hair that escaped from her braid. He looked back at her, shocked. "I...stay with me." She whispered. Unohana clutched his shirt, blushing more. "I want to be with you." She was far too shy to utter that she liked him, like he had said, but she felt what she was saying said enough.

Ukitake turned around to face Unohana. She moved a few pieces of his hair from his face. "Unohana-san..." She felt herself being picked up at he hugged her tightly. "Can I ask you to stay with me, then?"

She whispered quietly, "Yes."

Ukitake fell asleep soon after. Momo felt herself drifing off to sleep. _I wonder why they aren't together now...? _Unohana then walked into the room, her face slightly pink, but sad. She gently took Ukitake's hand in hers, and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "I will always stay with you, Jushiro-kun."


	2. Kuroi Hana

Kuroi Hana

Because a few of you thought I should continue, here you go!

Summary: Of all things, Unohana gets sick! While she's alone, Yachiru comes by for a short visit. Curious after eveasdropping on Ukitake's story to Momo, she asks what happened then. But the rest of the story isn't what she was expecting!

"Ukiii~!" Yachiru said, peeping into his room. Ukitake, whom, was still ill, was back in Ugendo, in his own room, "How are you?" He sat up and smiled when he saw Yachiru pop her head in.

He coughed a bit. "I'm feeling better. I think I know why you're here," he laughed. He reached over and pulled out his bag of candy. Yachiru began to nibble on it.

"Yay! Thank you Uki~! Get better!" She laughed as she ran off, holding the candy in her hand. When she stopped by to see Unohana, she couldn't find her anywhere. When she opened Unohana's door, she found Unohana coughing!

Groggily, Unohana looked over to see Yachiru. "Yachiru-san," she said, wiping her nose. "What brings you here? I apologize, but I'm a bit ill today."

"Just like Uki. It's like you two are connected or something!" Yachiru laughed, but it made Unohana blush slightly. "Re-chan, what happened to you and Uki?" Unohana rubbed her head, thinking that this seemed very familiar, but it also caused her to blush more.

Unohana knew Yachiru was here to say, so she resigned herself to telling the rest of the story, and what exactally happened, which even now made her heart ache. "Well, Ukitake-san and I stayed together through out our days at the academy. We thought things would get more difficult once we joined our respective squads, him at the 13th, and myself here at the 4th, but it actually went very well..."

Having already been at the 4th squad for quite some time, Unohana felt herself become more confident in her abilities, as well as her shyness melt away slowly. She still remained quiet and soft-spoken. Having been bullied and picked on quite a bit by the 11th Division, she used to cry quite a bit, which would cause Ukitake to come and chase them off for her. However, she soon developed a back bone, and would look at them with a soft smile, her eyes closed, "Will you stop that please?" For some reason, the men would get scared and run.

Ukitake, (who has become a vice captain by now), watched with amusement. She turned around and smiled at him. "Jushiro-kun!" She ran over and hugged him. He looked down and blushed, like he always did when she touched him, especially since...well, she _had _been developing a bit over the past few decades...

"I guess you don't need my help anymore," he smiled, though in truth, she scared him sometimes too with that one particular grin of hers. She blushed and then held his hand. "Let's go eat lunch somewhere." She nodded and followed him.

On the way there, Ukitake began to have a violent attack. He coughed up some blood and began to beathe and wheeze heavily. "Jushiro-kun!" Unohana, alarmed, sat him down against a tree and began to use healing kido on him. It didn't cure him, but it would help stifle his coughing attacks for awhile. After a bit, he began to calm down. She looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure you're ok? Maybe we should go back to your division to rest?"

Neither of them had much appetite anymore, but he said, "No, I'd rather just stay out here with you." He pulled her close. "Thank you, Retsu-chan." She looked up at him and gently kissed him. He kissed her back, both blushing.

"Ok...just take care of yourself..." she said tiredly, as she curled up beside him, slowly falling asleep. That's how they spent their afternoon; together.

When Ukitake wasn't with Unohana, he was with Kyoraku, or on his missions. It was in one of these missions, that everything fell apart.

After a very grueling mission to the real world, Unohana was sent along with several other members to heal the wounded and bring them back. She knew Ukitake was there. She was relieved when she heard Kyoraku's squad wasn't there. She didn't want him hurt...nor Ukitake, but...she couldn't help but worry.

Once they arrived, Unohana went off on her own, (which was not a good idea) instead of staying with her group to find Ukitake. She sighed with relief when she found him. He was injured, but he was carrying another one of the 13th Division members on his back, who was badly hurt. She smiled a bit when she saw him, but stopped once she saw the poor injured man on his back. "Put him down!" Unohana said, as she began to heal him. She then put up a protective barrier, just in case.

"Are you ok?" She said, looking up at Ukitake. He nodded. She looked at the man. He appeared to have several cuts, but none of them life threatening. "He should be ok. It looks like he has a few broken ribs though..." After seeing so much of this, Unohana had learned to compose herself in the face of blood.

Once she healed him enough, she took down the barrier and ask Ukitake if he could carry the man again. "I'll be back soon. I need to see if there is anyone else over here!" He nodded, not really wanting to let her go out there on her own.

Unohana saw a few dead shinigami, but she found a few who were alive, huddled together behind a barrier, looking terrified. "4th Squad has arrived!" She called, running over. They looked relieved.

One man touched his friends' shoulder. "Look, the 4th Squad is here!" They took down the barrier and she began to heal them enough so that they could make their way back to the main site. She smiled, seeing that they were alright. She packed up her things, and began to follow them. One of the men turned around to thank her, when he got a terrified look on his face. "RUN!"

Unohana looked around, only to see a Hollow's face right beside her. She looked down to see that it had torn a chunk out of her leg. Her vision began to go fuzzy, and her mouth dry. The pain shot up as she screamed. She leaned herself against a tree, and knew that she didn't have the time to be chanting any kido. She reached for her zanpakto. "Mi-Min-Minazu-Minazuki!" A green mist began to form as Minazuki was released. Soon, it formed the shape of a creature that looked like a large manta-ray. Although it's primary use was to heal the wounded in its stomache, it could also attack with its large mouth and tail.

Minazuki flew at the hollow, biting its arm off. The Hollow wailed in pain, but soon began to attack Minazuki. Although it sustained injuries, Minazuki had successfully beaten the hollow. However, soon more began to appear, as well as a few other 4th Division members to see what was going on. As Unohana weakened, so did Minazuki, until she called it back so it wouldn't get hurt. Unohana slumped down and began to breathe rapidly. She looked at her leg and realized that this was something beyond what she could treat at the moment.

It was then that she looked up when she saw Ukitake killing Hollows that were coming at her. "GET BACK RESTU!" He yelled.

She tried to stand up, but fell back down. Looking behind himself, Ukitake picked her up under his arm. "Put me down, please!" She cried.

The Hollow began to charge up its cero. Ukitake couldn't run fast enough carrying her to get away from the cero. Quickly, she silently apologized to him and bit his hand so he would let go of her. And he did. She landed on her one good leg and pushed him out of the way while she jumped. She then called out, after muttering the chant, "DANKU!" The shield took most of the blow, before it shattered, sending her flying backward. However, she soon blacked out from the pain before she hit anything.

Unohana woke up in her room, her lower abdomen wrapped up, and her leg healed, but also wrapped up. Her head throbbed, but she slowly sat up. She looked over to see Ukitake sitting on a pillow beside her bed.

He looked at her when she woke up. He looked worried and angry, which was unusual for him. "Go back to sleep. I need to talk to you then," he said quietly. She sadly looked down and nodded.

A few days later, once Unohana was well enough to go outside, she sat on the deck when Ukitake came by, still with the same look on his face. "How are you?" He didn't sit down.

"I'm feeling a bit better now," she said quietly. "Are you-" His look darkened. She bit her lip, and didn't say anything else.

"Forgive me, for what I am about to say." Her heart stopped. "I can't do anything to protect you...even more than that, I failed to protect you. As I am now...how can I possibly protect when I care about most? I can't. Worse, I am a burden to you in the battle field since I never know when...it might happen," he was refering to his coughing attacks. "You have a duty to heal and aid the entire Gotei 13, not just me. But for your sake...and mine..." He looked down, pained, "I must ask you...to move on from me, Unohana-san."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Please don't do this Ju-"

"Please...don't say anything Unohana-san..." She could tell he was crying too. He slowly walked away.

A few days later, Unohana became the vice captain of the 4th Division. She only took this as a small happiness, as the rest of it had been torn from her...

Yachiru listened as Unohana finished. "I've learned so much growing up and from my own mistakes. Though, even now," she said with a small smile, "I don't regret that decision even once. I was able to protect him, and that was enough for me."

"Do you still like him?" Yachiro asked innocently. Unohana blushed slightly, but smiled.

"As long as I am around, and doing my job, everything should be fine." Yachiru pouted. What kind of an answer was that?

Once she was alone, Unohana laid back down. "Even if we weren't meant to be...time can't change how I feel about you."


	3. Shiroi Hana

Kuroi Hana

Summary: What happens when Ukitake finds he has someone else competing for Unohana's heart? D: Will he let her go, or will he try to win her back? Then again, it's Unohana's choice. D: Will they have a happy ending, or will they go their seperate ways?

Once Unohana felt her strength return, she then began to do what she always had done; look after the injured and sick of the Soul Society. She looked over to see Yachiru hop in, followed by more members of the 11th Division. She sighed. How usual it was to see them here. And their injuries? Nothing more than being trained too hard. "Re-chan ~" Yachiru said happily, leading the way for the injured men.

She sighed, with a slight smile. Several members brought the men over to the recovering area, since their wounds were not that serious. Following them was none other than 11th Division's captain, Kenpachi. "Oi! You pathetic dumba-" Unohana grabbed his arm, and smiled.

"Do keep the language toned down. This is supposed to be child-friendly, you know." He just grunted, even if she did scare him-but only a little! He walked away, leaving Unohana grinning at his short temper. Yachiru, curious why on earth Kenpachi would come to just yell at his men, followed him.

"Neh, Ken-chan! Why did you go all the way to the 4th Division? It wasn't just to yell at those guys, was it?" She pressed her finger to her lips.

"Ehhh?" He gave a grunt. "What the hack are ya thinkin' about? Stupid brat..." He muttered. Yachiru wondered if it wasn't just to see Unohana. She'd have to wait and see.

Unohana later made a trip to see Ukitake to give him his medicine, since he was probably still a bit sick. She knocked on his door, and quietly opened it, to see him doing paper work. "Hello, Ukitake-taicho," she said with a smile. She held up a bag with his medicine in it. "I'm glad to see you're doing better." He smiled back at her, and turned around to face her.

"Thank you," he said, taking the medicine and putting it in his tea. "So how are you? I heard you were ill. I'm sorry I couldn't go see you, but..."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't want you up and about, especially not seeing me when I am ill. As for things, they've been calm, except more 11th Division members arriving. Including, surprisingly, Kenpachi-taicho. He never comes."

This surprised Ukitake as well. Why on earth would Kenpachi go to the 4th Division? "Why was he there?" He asked.

Unohana shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't stay long, though. Besides, he's too noisy when he arrives. All his yelling isn't good for the patients." She looked a bit annoyed.

"Do you dislike him?" Ukitake asked. He was now rather curious. Though, why would Unohana like someone like Kenpachi? A violent, blood-thirsty man with an interest only in fighting. That didn't seem like her type at all.

She looked surprised. "No, I don't. I just don't approve of noise in general in the 4th Division when there are patients recovering. That's all. Why, did it sound like I didn't like him?" She laughed a bit.

"No, just they way you looked after you said how much noise he created!" He laughed. Inwardly, he felt a pang of...jealousy? No, that couldn't be right. Ukitake never really agreed with Kenpachi's violent, loud personality. Though, he didn't dislike Kenpachi, it was only their personalities clashed when it came to basically everything.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work. I also have a few things to finish today." She smiled and then closed the door after he said good-bye.

Unohana leaned against the door for few minutes. How she wished she had the courage to tell him that her feelings for him still never left. She was never really afraid of much, but somehow, she was afraid to tell him.

A few days later, once the usual captain's meeting ended, Ukitake saw Kenpachi walk over to Unohana. He looked rather stiff, and hesitant. Kyoraku looked back at what Ukitake was doing. "Oi, Ukitake!" He saw Kenpachi talking to Unohana. "Ooohh boy," he said with a sigh. "I've been hearing that Kenpachi likes her since she's quite strong. Though, I have my Nanao-chan, so I don't need anyone else," he smiled. Ukitake said nothing, but watched as Unohana followed him out of the meeting.

"You were the one that left her a long time ago. Even if you're feelings didn't change, hers probably did. Hehe, probably got tired of waiting around for you, eh?" Kyoraku said a bit sadly, as he walked away. Ukitake sadly watched her go. As long as she was happy, that's what mattered. Not a day went by that he didn't regret leaving her. At the time, it seemed logical, but now...he wondered why he did it.

In fact, it seemed after that, Kenpachi seemed to drop by the 4th Division often, though his reason was to yell at his men for being weak and pathetic. He was losing her-to Kenpachi-to a brute! The one day things began to fall apart for him was when he heard Kenpachi and Unohana talking privately in a room. "What is it you want to talk about? You are here quite a lot, so are you alright?"

Kenpachi knew nothing of women, probably. "What a pain," he grunted. "Tch, Yachiru wanted you to come with us for dinner." Ukitake looked blank as he heard this...he...indirectly asked her out, using Yachiru as an excuse.

"What a nice offer," she smiled. "But I am quite busy today, so if Yachiru wouldn't mind having dinner another night, that would be fine." Unohana knew Kenpachi was indirectly asking her out, but she wasn't sure if she should accept his offer or not.

Kenpachi grunted and walked out, eying Ukitake as he left. As she walked out, she was surprised to see Ukitake standing there. "Oh, Ukitake-taicho. Can I help you?" He looked up and with an odd grin, shook his head.

"No, I'm alright. I just was in need of some more medicine." She blinked a few times. She was sure she'd given him enough to last awhile. Maybe he lost it. "Ahh, would you want to get something for lunch?" She looked back at him as she walked to get some more of his medicine.

"I can't today. I need to go gather some more herbs today, and it looks like it's going to rain later, so I'd rather get it done before then. Thank you, though," she smiled, as she handed him the medicine. He just nodded and slowly walked out.

He had lost her to Kenpachi. He wasn't surprised, though. He had never even made any hint of asking her out, really. It was his loss, and he had let her go in the first place...

Unohana took her zanpakto with her and set out for the mountain a bit later. This also gave her some time to think. It had been a long time since anyone expressed any interest in her that way. Though, it was Kenpachi asking. He was a brute, violent and blood-thirsty. He probably only admired her for being strong. But then, why not go after Soi Fon? She was strong too, wasn't she? No, Unohana did not have any feelings for him, but going out and about wasn't bad either. Then, her true feelings lay with Ukitake, as they always had. Though, he hadn't attempted anything with her since that day, but then, he was the one who dumped her. Maybe she should have tried to ask him instead.

The questions that remained were: Should she move on? Or, should she wait? She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice when it began to rain. She looked up, and then quickly covered her basket of herbs. As she walked to the open field so Minazuki could take off, she thought it might be a good idea to at least _try _having dinner with Kenpachi. If it didn't go well, then she knew that was something she didn't need to pursue further.

As she was about to pull Minazuki out, she saw Ukitake in the middle of the field. "Ukitake? What are you doing out here in this weather!" She ran over to him. His pony had more or less come out, and he was drenched and covered with mud and grass. He had a pained look on his face.

"Retsu, please...please listen to me!" That was the first time he had called her that in a very long time. "I was, and I am an idiot for letting you go! Ever since then, I regret my decision! My feelings for you have never changed, but I never had the courage to tell you. The thought that I might lose you, it nearly broke me. I thought this was the last I'd be able to tell you this. But, if being with him would make you happy, then please at least tell me you'll still remain as my friend."

He looked down and away. He then felt her arms on him as she gripped his haori. She looked up at him, with a sad smile, crying. "Do you think I could betray my own feelings? It was only ever you. There never was anyone else, Jushiro." She pulled his face down to her level, and kissed him. "I only ever could love you. That doesn't mean the pain I felt is gone, though. But, I'll forgive you, on one condition."

His face, which went from shocked, to red, to shocked again. "You have to stay with me, and say that you love me." He pulled her close to him.

"I love you, Retsu. I never want to let you go, never. Will you stay with me, always?" She was reminded of the first time he asked her out.

"As long as you always stay with me, I won't leave you." She had missed the warmth of being close to him like this. "Let's go back home," she smiled. She released Minazuki and offered out her hand as they both rode it down to the 4th Division barracks.

He took off his wet top and dried his hair, which when Unohana looked at him, caused her to blushed. He hugged her tightly from behind as she snuggled closer to him. He didn't plan on leaving her ever again. When he looked down at the small figure in his arms, it was easy to forget she was the terrifying 4th Division captain. But right now, she was his little flower. She held a piece of his hair between her fingers. "White means something pure and innocent..." she said, mostly to herself. "Something cleansed and born anew." He smiled at her.

"But we'll never have to start again, because I always want to be with you," he said quietly, as he kissed her forehead. With her red face, and hair braided behind her, she looked much like a child again. "You are mine, forever."

Red is for a blooming, passionate love

Black is for a dying, broken love

White is for a new, innocent love


End file.
